Why Celtics are better equipped to repeat than previous five champions originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Celtics hope to become the first repeat champions since the 2017-18 Warriorsand they are not short of recent examples to examine in the hope of avoiding what can go wrong.
Only one other time in NBA history (from 1975-80) were there six straight unique champions, and the C’s just extended that run last season, following the Nuggets, Warriors, Lakers, Bucks and Raptors.
So what can we learn from the five teams that didn’t repeat? Quite a lot, actually.
The Raptors are easy. They were one-time Kawhi Leonard, and when he left for the Clippers in the summer of 2019, he took Toronto’s title defense hopes with him. The Raptors played brilliantly for one year of Leonard, and it paid off with the ultimate prize. It has little importance for the Celtics, whose stars are well established and not going anywhere.
Then there are the Warriors and Lakers. You can stick them together because they suffered from the same thing: age.
LeBron James turns 40 this December, and while he’s maintained an MVP level of play far longer than anyone in history — he’s the Tom Brady of the NBA these days — there comes a time where carrying a franchise is too much, especially considering everyone years he spent as Cleveland’s 1, 1-A, and 1-B. Since winning his fourth and presumably final title, James has seen his Lakers miss the playoffs once, get bounced in the first round twice, and make one fortuitous run to the conference finals. He missed 90 games over the last four seasons and the Lakers lacked the supporting cast to bolster him.
The Warriors have aged as a team, with the core of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green reaching their mid-30s together. It felt that way at the time, and it’s obvious now – beating the Celtics in ’22 represented their last stand.
So how about the Bucks and Nuggets? This is where things get interesting.
The Nuggets had an easy postseason road two years ago, beating three playoff teams and the overrated Suns. That’s a cautionary tale, I guess, considering the star-less road the Celtics stamped to the Finals.
But the Nuggets also lost their key glue guy in Bruce Brown, who is a poor man’s Jrue Holiday or Derrick White. Brown does all the little things the Stars don’t have to, and Denver missed his versatility last season. The Celts, on the contrary, did not lose anyone.
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